GOP voters favor control of both White House and Congress

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- More Republicans than last year favor one-party control over both Congress and the White House, a Gallup poll released Monday indicates.

Forty percent of surveyed Republicans now favor a single party controlling the two branches of the government, up from 24 percent last year.

Forty-three percent of Democrats agree, a figure similar to the 47 percent revealed in 2015.

Independents this year are more likely than last year to say it makes no difference whether the president and Congress are the same party -- 45 percent this year compared to 39 percent last year.

Republicans' change can be attributed to the 2014 election, in which {link:the party gained control of the U.S. Senate to control both houses of Congress.

The 2016 presidential campaign also could have led Republicans to believe a member of their party should sit in the oval office.

"The focus of political attention has increasingly shifted toward the 2016 presidential election campaign and away from President Barack Obama," a news release from Gallup said. "Republicans may be optimistic about their chances of electing a Republican president, particularly since Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has been weakened by the email server controversy."

Gallup noted that historically the party controlling the White House tends to favor one-party control over the legislative branch of government. Twenty-four percent of respondents this year, irrespective of party, prefer a divided government, a figure consistent with polls over the past 12 years.

Gallup interviewed 1,025 adults nationwide from Sept. 9 to 13 with a 4 percent margin of error.